Cut on the Bias
Justice or retribution? The life of Rebecca Davies, an Australian woman committed to the protection of women in need, centers around this stark question. Set mainly in England in 1905 with many concurrent flashbacks to Australia in the 1870s, this novel offers suspense and drama in heaps. It charts the course of Rebecca’s current life in middle age in England by showing what happened to her in her teens in Australia. Rebecca begins her life’s work of helping other women after falling in love as a teenager with another woman who is a victim of domestic abuse. Rebecca rises to the challenges of both protection and meting out to abusive men what she feels they deserve in a way they understand. This leads to many violent and deadly confrontations for Rebecca as she learns how to leverage her own formidable abilities on behalf of those who are victimized. As she grows in skill and knowledge, she puts her talents to good use in service to the British government as both spy and assassin. As an extremely unconventional woman, she lives life on her own terms.
Dramatic plot developments, terrifying encounters, and vengeful counterattacks proceed apace along with affairs of the heart and amorous encounters as Rebecca goes about her business. The unfolding of Rebecca’s younger life offers insight into her middle-aged attitudes and behavior in England. A quick pace is sustained throughout both time periods which rapidly moves the progress of the story forward. A steady stream of characters, some empathetic and some just plain bad guys, fill the pages of this book. Readers interested in the often-perilous adventures of unconventional women would undoubtedly find this book to be a very entertaining read.
